Bando
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Post by Bando on Feb 4, 2012 19:02:59 GMT -5
So did anyone else get really uncomfortable when the students started chanting for Caprio late in today's game? As Hoyadrummer can tell you, I got physically anxious every time they cheered his name or went wild when he got a touch. Seriously, I was anxious to the point of embarrassment. I hope I'm not rehashing a previous discussion, but here are my general reasons for feeling this way: [/b]. I know, I know. But no one was chanting Bowen's name or going wild when he touched the ball, so it's clearly not just a benchwarmer thing. The sight of a mostly white student section loudly asking for a rarely used white player is really problematic for me. 2. Disrespect for JTIII. He's the coach and will put in whoever he damn well wants. Game management is not up for popular vote. 3. Disrespect for the other players. I think this is what bothers me the most. For the students to chant Jason Clark's name, he has to be kicking ass in a major way. For them to chant Caprio's, we just have to be ahead by a lot. How must the other players feel when the students are acclaiming a guy who hasn't done a single thing to deserve it? Furthermore, how embarrassed must Caprio be when this happens? [/ul] Maybe I'm overreacting, but this has always bothered me. Does anyone have a similar feeling?
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joey0403p
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Post by joey0403p on Feb 4, 2012 19:15:43 GMT -5
i think it is fine. bowen is a scholarship player. caprio is a walk on. that is my read anyway.
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jwp91
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Post by jwp91 on Feb 4, 2012 19:16:36 GMT -5
Caprio is the last player on the bench. I think you are reading too much into it.
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seaweed
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Post by seaweed on Feb 4, 2012 19:18:58 GMT -5
chillout - he's a walk on
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Post by NoBoumtjeInTheYaYaRoom on Feb 4, 2012 19:19:24 GMT -5
Not a race thing - Does Nate get that reaction?
And watch the players on bench (the rotation guys) and the coaches when Caprio has a chance to score. They are just as hyped.
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gahoya
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Post by gahoya on Feb 4, 2012 19:22:33 GMT -5
This has got to be a joke.
A player who is paying his own way through college while playing for the basketball team (that is going through workouts, practice, long hours with the rest of the players who are on scholarship) occasionally getting a minute or two in a blowout getting chants and a reaction? He damn well should be. I couldn't be happier when Caprio gets out. It means a win is ensured, and he is typically exciting when he's out there. Shoots the ball, gets blocks, throws alley-oop's, etc.
No way in hell does this have anything to do with race, and I honestly never even thought this would be a question with any of our players. Have you seen people's reaction to Nate Lubick on this board? It ain't pretty. People don't hate Lubick or love Caprio because they are white, it's because Caprio works hard and rarely sees minutes in games.
The team has absolutely no problem with Caprio being out their getting chants. If anything, they are are screaming louder when he's out there than any of the students. It's fun for the fans and the students when he's out there. Caprio can't possibly be embarrassed when he's out there. He's all smiles the entire time. If I were him, I'd be having the time of my life, and I'm sure he is. He's literally got the entire student population behind his back, and there is no way they ever get mad at him.
Sorry if I fell for an obvious troll or joke or something, but this is ridiculous.
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Bando
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Post by Bando on Feb 4, 2012 19:32:05 GMT -5
Maybe, but does your average student know the scholarship/non-scholarship distinction?
That's always a possibility. I can see cheering for him when he comes in, then, but the loud insistence that he enter the game?
Yes, I'm a troll. Congratulations on getting to 100 posts, by the way. That's adorable!
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Post by williambraskyiii on Feb 4, 2012 19:35:13 GMT -5
Being "anxious" or "embarrassed" says more about you than the students or anyone else. Might I recommend Xanax?
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Elvado
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Post by Elvado on Feb 4, 2012 19:36:53 GMT -5
This has been going on at least since Tommy Lang. It also goes on just about everywhere. Walk ons are "Everyman" players and students let loose for them. If he is happy and his classmates enjoy the chant, I am missing the harm.
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gahoya
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Post by gahoya on Feb 4, 2012 19:38:51 GMT -5
Maybe, but does your average student know the scholarship/non-scholarship distinction? That's always a possibility. I can see cheering for him when he comes in, then, but the loud insistence that he enter the game? Yes, I'm a troll. Congratulations on getting to 100 posts, by the way. That's adorable! Ah, damn your right. What was I thinking. I should just sit here and make up and post up pointless crap until I get to the thousands! What is wrong with me? It's all about the post count. Nothing else matters.
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DanMcQ
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Post by DanMcQ on Feb 4, 2012 19:39:49 GMT -5
Pretty much every student body does this for the last guy or two on the bench. My bet is most of them know Caprio is a walk-on and most of them know Bowen is a talented, recruited kid.
If you get a chance, watch the TV replay to see the reactions of the players on the bench after the Caprio to Bowen alley-oop. That tells you all you need to know.
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GIGAFAN99
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Post by GIGAFAN99 on Feb 4, 2012 19:44:47 GMT -5
At the St. Johns game, someone yelled "box out Hollis!" and I shrunk in my seat. It was a white student trying to boss around a fellow student because he's black. A few seconds later some one shouted "Come on Nate, you're better than that" when he threw a pass away. I almost vomited. Partially because I was drinking at 10am but mostly because I knew they thought Nate was "better than 'that'" because he's white. I also noticed that there was little commentary when a player did well, just standing and clapping. Pretty disrespectful when exceptional performance gets less verbal commentary than a mistake.
I don't want to give you too hard a time Bando because we were all burned by the disgrace of Brendan Gaughan but cheering for a hard-working practice only player (Bowen is just young, he could get minutes in the future) is completely fine.
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Post by HoyaSinceBirth on Feb 4, 2012 19:45:26 GMT -5
Yeah same thing happened for Jansen and Dougherty. It always happens for the Walk on when they get in the game.
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SFHoya99
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Post by SFHoya99 on Feb 4, 2012 19:51:50 GMT -5
Giga brings up Brendan Gaughan. Since he was our Caprio for the first couple of my years, it's important to note that most people weren't really cheering for Brendan. Perhaps he was unique -- most fans knew that perhaps it wasn't his play that got him on the squad -- but people were mostly cheering because Brendan scoring was a sign that we were not only going to win but were obviously beating our opponent by a lot. And a I daresay some folks were cheering because it was kinda funny.
If anything, I always feel kinda bad when the crowd goes wild for the walk-on because it's obvious that part of the reason the crowd is cheering is because the player is relatively untalented (obviously, they are usually much more talented at basketball than everyone except their teammates). It actually has to be a little insulting for everyone to be screaming "shoot! It'll be funny if even YOU score on them!"
If people start cheering Bowen on like that, that's when he'd know it would be time to transfer to an NAIA school. And while Caprio is not a Big East level player, he's still better than a human victory cigar.
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skyhoya
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Post by skyhoya on Feb 4, 2012 20:09:11 GMT -5
Most schools do the same thing. My co-worker's son was a walk on at UVA, 6-10 and clumpsy with bright red hair. The UVA students always cheer his name when they get up 20 with 3 minutes to go. He averaged 1.3 minutes a game over two years, only because the center got suspended for a game and he got to play 20 minutes.
His parents we really happy when he got in and felt the second mortgage they put on their house and the second jobs they worked to put in UVA was worth it.
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prhoya
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Post by prhoya on Feb 4, 2012 20:20:36 GMT -5
Who can forget the crowd chanting "give Lang the rock!" (or Chip Sims or Kayode Vann. etc...)
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Boz
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Post by Boz on Feb 4, 2012 20:53:21 GMT -5
Here's another reason you might not want to do it:
How the player himself might feel about it.
When I was in undergrad, most of my good friends played on the soccer team. Some were starters, some subs, and one was pretty much the end of the bench, so he only got in at the end of games with safe leads for the most part.
We used to bring a fair number of (usually pretty drunk) fans to the games and a lot of people, also his friends, always liked to start chanting/cheering for him to get in at the end of games if there were any substitutions available.
I don't think they meant anything bad by it, they just wanted to see him get in the game, but I remember very clearly one night after he had played, he came up to me and told me that he wanted me to tell the others in our group to stop doing that.
Basically, he said that he was uncomfortable saying it to anyone else, but he wanted to tell me that it made him feel like a total scrub and not a really part of the team, which he was of course, working just as hard as anyone (and a lot harder than some, just not as naturally gifted).
Anyway, I admitted that I had never seen it that way, but I did ask everyone else to stop chanting for him. I didn't explain the reason, but they all agreed to stop and just cheer for the whole team.
I know the fans at the basketball games don't mean it that way, at least not consciously, but it can come across that way. Caprio might not feel like my friend did, so maybe it's no big deal in his case, but thought it was worth sharing.
EDIT: crap, I just pulled a hifi, didn't I?
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Post by williambraskyiii on Feb 4, 2012 21:02:35 GMT -5
EDIT: crap, I just pulled a hifi, didn't I? 100 pct. at least you are self-aware.
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SFHoya99
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Post by SFHoya99 on Feb 4, 2012 21:10:33 GMT -5
Here's another reason you might not want to do it: How the player himself might feel about it. When I was in undergrad, most of my good friends played on the soccer team. Some were starters, some subs, and one was pretty much the end of the bench, so he only got in at the end of games with safe leads for the most part. We used to bring a fair number of (usually pretty drunk) fans to the games and a lot of people, also his friends, always liked to start chanting/cheering for him to get in at the end of games if there were any substitutions available. I don't think they meant anything bad by it, they just wanted to see him get in the game, but I remember very clearly one night after he had played, he came up to me and told me that he wanted me to tell the others in our group to stop doing that. Basically, he said that he was uncomfortable saying it to anyone else, but he wanted to tell me that it made him feel like a total scrub and not a really part of the team, which he was of course, working just as hard as anyone (and a lot harder than some, just not as naturally gifted). Anyway, I admitted that I had never seen it that way, but I did ask everyone else to stop chanting for him. I didn't explain the reason, but they all agreed to stop and just cheer for the whole team. I know the fans at the basketball games don't mean it that way, at least not consciously, but it can come across that way. Caprio might not feel like my friend did, so maybe it's no big deal in his case, but thought it was worth sharing. EDIT: crap, I just pulled a hifi, didn't I? No, it's on topic. Also, it's a Georgetown anecdote (I assume) on a Georgetown board. Most importantly, you said what I was trying to say much better than I did.
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hoyaLS05
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Post by hoyaLS05 on Feb 4, 2012 21:18:48 GMT -5
When I was a student, far more of my peers knew Bryon Jansen than knew anyone else. There were probably a host of reasons for that, at least some of them unique to Bryon -- he was just a manger before he became a walk-on and so was pretty significantly involved in extracurriculars other than basketball -- but that may be the same for Caprio. For instance, I wonder where he lived as a freshman. Copley, like the basketball players, or one of the four freshmen dorms, like every other freshman at Georgetown?
I'm guessing part of the reason people go wild for the walk-ons is because people know the walk-ons. If you want to say that is at least partially due to race, well that very well could be.
As for the how-does-Caprio feel point, I think that is entirely legitimate, though largely unavoidable here, where Caprio can't go to a couple of his buddies and ask them to put a kibosh on it.
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